Procrastination - Simon Fraser University

1 Procrastination WORKSHOP 2 Procrastination WORKSHEET (NOTES TO MYSELF) Self Assessment Exercise: Irrational Thoughts - - - Physiological Symptoms of Stress Map out on a Body Map: - - - - - - Strategies & Ideas for Change - - - THE MONKEY TRAP Chain a hollowed-out coconut to a stake. Ensure that the coconut has some rice inside which can be seen through a small hole. The hole must be just big enough so that the monkey can put his hand in, but too small for his hand to come out after he/she has grabbed the rice.

2 Tempted by the rice, the monkey reaches in and is suddenly trapped. He/she is not able to see that it is his own fist that traps him, his own desire for the rice. He rigidly holds on to the rice, because he values it. He cannot let go and by doing so retain his freedom. So the trap works and the monkey captured. THE RICE I HOLD ON TO THAT KEEPS ME TRAPPED IN Procrastination IS? 3 Sentence Stems Provide 5 or 6 answers for each of the following sentence stems: 1. If I didn't procrastinate I .. 2. If I didn't struggle with Procrastination how would my life be different? What would I do differently? 3. If I stopped procrastinating what new problems or situations would I have to face that I don't have to contend with now?

3 4 Reasons Why People Procrastinate THE BIG FIVE 1. Fear of Failure You cannot control other people s responses to your work; overvaluing these responses can create anxiety: - Perfectionism: having unreachable standards will discourage you from pursuing a task - Double Insurance: Procrastination can be a way of protecting our self esteem ie. If I don t do well on an exam, it s because I didn t study, if I do well, I m a genius because I didn t study 2. Fear of Success Afraid of what might happen if we were successful 3. Fear of Losing Control When feeling out of control, a person may develop a rebellious attitude in order to gain a greater sense of control. - ie. A professor wants an assignment in by a certain date, and I chose to submit it 2 weeks later 4.

4 Fear of Separation Afraid that successful completion of work could pull us away from others. 5. Fear of Attachment Afraid that successful completion of work could draw others too close. Others: Fear of unknown Fear of change Low motivation Lack of assertion Peer influence Lack of relevance Lack of self-confidence Uncertainty of what is expected Acceptance of another s goals Aversive nature of the task Low frustration tolerance Difficulty making decisions Dependency and help-seeking Laziness Poor study habits Poor time management Learned helplessness Uncertainty about career objectives Inability to handle the task Habit Excitement of last minute work Beliefs that time pressures produce best work NOTE: Mental health issues ( serious depression and anxiety) may also contribute to the habit of Procrastination .

5 Medical consultation is advised under these circumstances. 5 THE PROCRASTINATOR S CODE (from Burka and Yuen) 9 I must be perfect. 9 Everything I do should go easily and without effort. 9 It is safer to do nothing than to take a risk and fail. 9 I should have no limitations. 9 If it s not done right, it s not worth doing at all. 9 I must avoid being challenged. 9 If I succeed, someone will get hurt. 9 If I do well this time, I must always do well. 9 Following someone else s rules means I m giving in and not in control. 9 I can t afford to let go of everything or anyone. 9 There is a right answer, and I ll wait until I find it. 9 If I expose my real self, people won t like me. 9 I will not put in my best effort so if I do poorly I will be able to tell myself that if I worked harder, I could have done better.

6 6 Behavioural Strategies for Procrastination Intervention A little neglect may breed mischief: for want of a nail the shoe was lost; for want of a shoe the horse was lost; and for want of a horse the rider was lost. Benjamin Franklin Questions to ask yourself: 1. Was there a time when you didn t procrastinate, or was it less severe? 2. What were you doing different at that time? 3. Could you do that again? Could you do more of that? 4. In trying to resolve your Procrastination , what have you tried and found helpful? GUIDELINES FOR GOALSETTING: Goals should Meaningful & Desired Believable, Realistic and Achievable Concrete, Specific and Clearly Defined Stated in the Positive Vividly Imagined and Internalized In writing Measurable Prioritized PRIORITIZING: Step 1 - List all of the tasks that need to be done Step 2 - Break the list into 3 groups.

7 H High Priority needs to be done right away M Medium Priority needs to be done, but not immediately L - Low Priority not essential, but things I d like to get done Step 3 - Put a letter (H, M, L) beside each item on your list - Within each category, assign a number for the order you will tackle these items 7 TIME MANAGEMENT & SELF MOTIVATION: Try an Un-Schedule : 1. Write down all the activities that you know you will be doing in a schedule for the week - Organize your activities in hour blocks - ie. Class, commuting time, meals, groceries, laundry, socializing, exercise, etc. - This schedule does not include what you should be doing, your behavioural goal (ie.)

8 Studying for an exam, researching or writing a paper) 2. Look over this schedule and ask yourself if anything is missing - ie. Exercise, fun, TV time, etc. 3. Once all activities are recorded, the blank spaces show the maximum time that you can use to work towards your goal. 4. Record what you actually do with the hour blocks. - If you are aware you are procrastinating, record it 5. As you work towards your goal, use the Un-Schedule to record your progress 6. Once you have done a hour of work towards your goal, block off the corresponding block on your schedule - You may want to use a different colour so these blocks stand out 7. At the end of each week, add up all the coloured blocks and celebrate how much time you spent working towards your goal Benefits of the Un-Schedule 1.

9 You see how much time is already committed and how much time you actually have to work towards your goals. 2. At the end of the week you can look back and see where your time actually went. 3. When you record progress after you have made it, you focus on your accomplishments, which is more encouraging. 4. The coloured blocks serve as a reward and gives satisfaction to see what you have achieved. 5. This is a helpful exercise in self-monitoring, an effective tool to overcome Procrastination . 8 Master Weekly Un-Schedule Time Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday 6:30 am 7:00 7:30 8:00 8:30 9:00 9:30 10:00 10:30 11:00 11:30 12:00 pm 12:30 1:00 1:30 2:00 2:30 3:00 3:30 4:00 4:30 5:00 5:30 6:00 6:30 7:00 7:30 8:00 8:30 9:00 9:30 10:00 10:30 11:00 11:30 12:00 am Hours: Total Hours Worked Towards Goal.

10 _____ 9 CONTRACTING & ACCOUNTABILITY: I _____, do solemnly swear on this _____ day of _____, 2004, to _____ _____. And when I do this I will reward myself with_____ _____. Signed Date _____ _____/_____/_____ Witnessed Date _____ _____/_____/_____ SELF-REWARD: Rewarding yourself is more effective than punishing yourself. RELAXATION: Too much stress and anxiety can reduce your ability to concentrate and become so distracting that you can t move towards the accomplishment of your goal. CONCLUSION: 1. Experiment with these strategies to find out what ones might work for you. 2. Don t try to put them all into place at once. You would probably become overwhelmed and get discouraged. 3. Continue to do what works, discard what doesn t, and try something new.